Brad and Kami Wenger recreate the lives of Germans during WWII

Brad leads a unit of local World War II reenactors who represent the 121st Infantry Regiment, 50th Division of the German Army.

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By Colleen Seidel/The Record Herald

Waynesboro Record Herald - Waynesboro, PA

By Colleen Seidel/The Record Herald

Posted Nov. 10, 2012 at 12:00 PM

By Colleen Seidel/The Record Herald

Posted Nov. 10, 2012 at 12:00 PM

Teaching the history of World War II to the public is about more than just textbooks and photographs for Fayetteville residents Brad and Kami Wenger.

To the husband and wife team, it's about bringing the participants of the war who made the history to life — and doing it as accurately as possible.

Wenger, 42, leads a unit of local World War II reenactors who represent the 121st Infantry Regiment, 50th Division of the German Army, a unit that saw combat during the war in Poland, France and Russia.

His wife, Kami, 37, represents a German Red Cross field nurse at reenactments.

Living history

The Wengers make a living out of recreating history, from their business which replicates period German women and childrens' uniforms, to the regular reenactments they attend throughout the region.

The draw to recreate German uniforms and insignia from World War II instead of their U.S. counterparts is twofold, the Wengers said.

It requires strict attention to detail and personal appearance to play the part of a German soldier, according to Brad.

"The German uniforms were more elaborate," he said, in comparison to U.S. uniforms.

"I spend more money on my reenacting clothing than on my regular clothing," he added.

Kami said that for her, the draw is the challenge of researching the history and replicating the uniforms, which are not as readily available as U.S. uniforms.

"On the Internet, it's getting harder to find things," she said.

Research for accurate representation of women's roles in the war must be physically done by an assistant in Germany, she said, because the German government is strict about what information it releases.

Historical accuracy

The pair is obsessive about making sure every single detail of their recreation of German soldiers and nurses is correct, right down to the trash they throw on the ground.

Wenger said his unit uses replica food rations — among them chocolate bars, tin cans of spinach and sardines, and vanilla sugar — so that even the debris at the reenactment camps is historically accurate.

"It's period trash," he laughed.

Other accessories the reenactors carry include small tins of Nivea hand cream and small bottles of Bayer aspirin, both of which real German soldiers carried with them on the front lines.

They even wear the same cologne the German soldiers were required to wear, a brand popularly called "4711."

It's these items that provide a starting point for the reenactors to talk to the public, Wenger explained, because they are things that the public recognizes. It gives the reenactors a chance to talk about the day-to-day lives of the soldiers as well.

Page 2 of 2 - "That's some of the cool stuff," he said.

Misconceptions

The Wengers know that not everyone may understand why they represent the United States' enemy during the war, and they've faced hostility from the public before because of common misconceptions.

Wenger recounted a time he wore a black Panzer division uniform — a unit of the regular German army — to a reenactment and was confronted by someone who thought he was representing a member of the notorious SS paramilitary unit linked to Adolf Hitler's Nazi party.

The SS was the unit responsible for the vast majority of war crimes carried out by Hitler's Third Reich, including the mass genocide of more than 6 million Jews and additional masses of other populations via the Holocaust.

"You try to be as polite as you can and just walk away," he said about how he handles those types of situations.

Brad said the biggest misconception his unit faces is being perceived as Nazis.

"That's not what we're about," he said, emphasizing that Nazi party flags, noted for their red background and large black swastika symbol, were not carried in the field by German soldiers.

Appreciation

In many cases, that's exactly why the Wengers represent Germany in reenactments — to educate the public, especially school students, that the majority of German citizens and soldiers during the war were not connected to Nazi party extremism and faced similar experiences to those of their American counterparts.

The German soldiers had more in common with American soldiers than people realize, the Wengers said.

"They were out there fighting for their families and their homes," Kami said. "They took a lot of pride in what they fought for."

The Wengers said that, in actuality, it is the veterans — both American and German — who understand and appreciate their reenactments the most.

"They don't hold the animosity everyone else does," Kami said, referring to the American veterans she's encountered. "They love talking about the times they spent over there."

"They appreciate that somebody appreciates what they did," Brad added.